These are (to what we figure) are the best, most realistic settings possible for this league and pretty much NHL13 in general. Final settings are in (red brackets). These settings have been updated for our KHL 2015 roster file. Click the KHL logo for a condensed printable version of these settings.

BASIC

Skill level : We start our league settings on All-Star since we find it’s the best setting to get a good playing level from the CPU without having them cheating too much.

Game style : We use Hardcore, since it’s the closest to our setup defaults. It will change to Current after you have made changes to the sliders.

GENERAL

Tuner set version : The latest tuner set (as of this posting) has a glitch in it for shootouts so we use an older one. Typically 1.6 or older.

CPU aid : I use Hardcore, since Normal is giving the user too much help on a lot of things like passing and shooting. For example, if you’re trying a backhand pass from a bad spot, the game shouldn’t correct your mistake by still making it a good pass.

Broken stick frequency : (2) We set this at 2, since this offers the most realistic amount of sticks to break based on period length.

Game speed : (4) For NHL this is to high as it allow to many breakaways and defensemen are easy to beat, but 4 for our KHL is perfect, otherwise it's like skating in mud. We rarely see breakaways and find that our personal tweaks and character builds allow for defensemen to be almost perfect when defending at higher speeds. Set this to 4!

Attribute effect : Default will not work for this league. We set this at max (6), which means that players are performing to their respective attributes, it allow the system to distinguish the best players from the rest.

Fatigue effect :(6) We use 6 to have shorter shifts and mostly to get a bigger fatigue effect when using the speed burst button. Teams with lower endurance seem to get really tired in the 3rd period, makes for very interesting and exciting comebacks etc.

Fatigue recovery :(2) We leave it at 2, players are recovering at a realistic rate.

Injury occurrence :(4) We use 4 right now, realistic injuries and frequency when playing. Simulated games increase these odds beware, but this slider doesn't affect the sim engine.

Puck control : (0 = off) We use 0, since I find anything over it to be unrealistic. If it could be lower we would lower it more.

Player acceleration :(2) We use 2. This allows for some breakaways, but helps defensemen allot. They are able to turn around without getting blown by forwards all the time. Along with game speed at 4, it gives a realistic pace and gameplay. This setting is super important. 3 allows way to many breakaways, while 1 is terribly slow and there is almost never any breakways or forechecking pressure possible.

RULES

Period length : (8) We use 8, finding 10 or more is way beyond realistic shot totals, 6 doesn't allow enough time to make heroic comebacks ever.

Penalties : (max) We use Max. I think it has to be the case to get a good amount of calls. A must! This is critical as it's needed to make the AI receive penalties as well.

Penalty time scaling:(3) I use 3, since I find it to be an happy medium. The penalty time scaling slider works that way: when the slider is high, penalties are longer and when at 0, it's actual period time. For example, when playing with 10 minutes periods... With scaling at 0, penalites last about 1 minute. With scaling at 3, they last around 1:30. And with scaling at 6, they last about 2 minutes.

AI

Created plays : Even if we personally don’t use them, I leave it On, since it doesn’t change anything.

AI learning :(6) We leave it at 6. It’s the ability for the AI to learn how you play offensively and defensively, so it can adjust. With this slider at max, you should not be able to do the same move again and again, while still getting rewarded. A must! If you are not using max here, your pretty much cheating to win.

CPU difficulty adjustment :(0) This slider is really up to the user, but we personally use 6. Everyone should start with it at 0 and play some games. Then, if you really find it too easy, you could increase this slider by 1 at a time, up to 3 at the highest. It’s a boost the AI gets in all areas, which means skating, shooting, passing, hitting, goaltending, etc. Since it’s a bit of a AI cheat slider. Keeping this at 0 is still a very difficult challenge.

CPU strategy adjustment :(3) We leave it at 3, it's a good balance. Lower than that, the CPU isn't able to adjust enough and when maxed, they seem to be over-adjusting on every little things happening.

Be A Pro strategy adjustment : (0) We use 0.

Human strategy adjustment : (0) We use 0. We want to change a team’s stategy ourselves.

CPU faceoff difficulty :(4) We use 4 again now as 5 was hopeless to win with lower end centermen once our teams were finalized.

Fight difficulty :(5) We leave it at 5. Fights are generally rare, but certain teams have more fighters and it's an important momentum booster in game.

CPU penalties :(6) We use 6. This has the CPU’s team taking a good number of penalties, it's the perfect setting for this league.

CPU teammate penalties :(5) We use 5, since we want our teammates to take penalties, but not as often as CPU’s opponent team, because we also take penalties ourselves when controlling players.

PASSING

Pass assist :(4) We found this setting to be perfect for this league as anything higher is to easy, anything lower and you almost never complete a pass. You'll get a good amount of give-aways and more realistic sloppy gameplay. This slider only affects human and has nothing to do with CPU.

Manual passing :(On) We leave it On to be able to control the speed of my passes.

Pass speed :(2) We leave it at 2, since the original speed seems realistic.

Saucer pass speed : (3) I leave it at 3, since the original speed seems realistic.

Pass accuracy :(2) I use 2 for human and 0 for CPU. Human has to be in advantage here, because CPU players are able to do a lot of tape to tape passes when their number is higher than this. Even at 0, they are still too good, but there's nothing we can do about it.

Pass reception ease :(2/0) I use 2 for human and 0 for CPU. Human in advantage for the same reason as mentioned for pass accuracy.

Pass interceptions :(3/3) I use 3 both for human and CPU. Players are a lot better this year to intercept passes, so you can’t pass as easily as other years, which is great. You have to choose the right time to pass and use saucer passes more often.

SHOOTING

Shot accuracy :(1/2) We use 1 for humans and 2 for the CPU. It's giving a right amount of shots missing and also hitting the net. In this league missing the net is common, frustrating, but realistic. However the AI players can't seem to score ever or very rarely on 1, so make sure they are on 2.

Shot power : (3/3) The original values look pretty realistic, but once we tested speeds in game against actual shot speeds from the AHL/NHL we found out that 3/3 was bang on for realism and actual KHL players.

Slap shot accuracy :(1) We use 1 as slap shots are much more likely to miss the net and with shot power increased this season, it makes for much more interesting rebounds and puck bounces.

Slap shot power :(3/3) Like shot power, we determined the proper setting through AHL/NHL average speeds and combined that with in game average player power. Setting this to 3/3 perfectly replicates real life slap shot speeds for this league. There are however exceptions as in game these speeds are tested standing still, in real life they are tested with a skating start which increases speed. A 99 slap shot power player (which is max) can only shoot 90 MPH from a standing position. At best a skating start would add 10-20 MPH which would land Ryazantsev at 100-110 mph which is quite accurate.

One timer accuracy : (2) We use 2 as 1 just never pans out. We wanted the occasional one-timer to go in, so we upped this setting to 2 this season.

CHECKING

Hitting assistance :(2) We use 2. Like for pass assist, this slider only affects humans and has nothing to do with CPU.

Aggression :(5) I always leave it at 5. It gives just the right amount of aggressiveness from the CPU, without having them over committing, chasing you on the ice and making bad positioning decisions because of a too high aggression, like when this slider is maxed.

Hitting power :(2) We increased this to 2. It makes it harder to go to the slot and to walk in the zone, while still being fairly realistic. However, we find anything over it too much, players seem to be falling all over the ice. We are not able to get realistic hitting stats though, because the game only counts big hits when players fall on the ice, which is not the case in real life, where every contact counts as a hit.

Stick lift effectiveness : (4/4) We use 4 for human and CPU. CPU players don’t use this well though.

Poke effectiveness : (3/3) We use 3 for human and CPU. It's fairly realistic, not overpowered, just right. Players can't just go through your poke checks with the puck, you can play a good positional defense and get rewarded. However, CPU players still don’t use this enough.

GOALIES

Goalie passing :(3) I leave it at 3. The goalie comes out of his net to play the puck at a realistic rate and I’m pretty sure it also helps him with poke checks.

Goalie cover puck frequency :(5) I use 5. It helps to get a better rebound control from the goalie and prevent the fact that he will return the puck in play, even if an opposing player is near him.

Goalie screen effect : (4) I use 4. The goalie has a harder time seeing the puck when screened, but is still able to make the save at a good enough rate. This set at 4 is a must for the KHL as it's one of the best ways to get goals.

Goalie reaction speed :(0/0) We snuffed this setting as it doesn't matter any longer. Our goalies are designed to stop pucks. Their own reaction speeds are very high so naturally this setting does little or nothing at all.

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